Orgs plan to sue Wilson Co. wastewater authority over drainage into Cumberland tributary

A state inspector photographed ponded water covered in algae blooms at the Ridgewater wastewater treatment site in Mount Juliet, Tenn. on Jan. 8, 2024. (Photo: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation)

Environmental groups say they plan to sue Wilson County’s wastewater authority over a Mount Juliet facility that state records show has repeatedly violated state rules and discharged polluted wastewater into a tributary of the Cumberland River.

The wastewater treatment system serves about 89 homes in the Ridgewater Estates and Camelot Cove subdivisions. It funnels sewage into a sand and UV filter before piping remaining wastewater into a “drip field,” where it is meant to be dispersed over a large area to allow soil to act as a natural filter.

But the Ridgewater facility has repeatedly oversaturated its drip field in the last five years, using only a third of the land its permit stipulates, according to a Notice of Intent to Sue letter sent on Aug. 6 by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association and the Sierra Club. This led wastewater to form pools covered in “mats of algae and slimes,” one state inspection recorded in March 2021. 

In April of this year, inspection reports noted wastewater flowing through an unpermitted, freshly dug trench discharging into a tributary of the Cumberland River — something the environmental groups say violates the federal Clean Water Act. Samples taken from the tributary downstream from the wastewater discharge showed levels of E. coli and other pollutants that exceed Tennessee and Environmental Protection Agency recreational standards, according to the letter.

The notice letter informs the Water and Wastewater Authority of Wilson County (the wastewater system’s owner), Adenus Operations, LLC (the system’s operator), the EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation of a pending federal lawsuit, which can be filed 60 days after the letter was sent.

The wastewater authority contends that the trench is a recently cleaned existing storm water drainage ditch, and that high E. coli levels are coming from another source in the area. Adenus did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit will seek an injunction to halt any continued violations and seek civil penalties of up to $68,445 per day for each violation, according to the letter. The Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association and Sierra Club allege that the site has violated the Clean Water Act every day since August 2020 by discharging wastewater into the tributary — considered waters of Tennessee and the United States — without a permit to do so.

State regulator’s records chronicle ongoing issues

TDEC began issuing permits for “decentralized drip dispersal systems” — the type of wastewater system used at the Ridgewater site — in the 1990s. Its lack of reliance on existing sewer infrastructure makes this type of system favorable for developments in rural areas, the letter states.

There are about 374 permitted drip dispersal systems in Tennessee today, and TDEC found in a 2024 survey that more than half of the 360 sites in active use did not comply with their permits. Overloading soil with wastewater — leading to polluted runoff onto other land or bodies of water — was one of the most noted problems.

The Ridgewater site first obtained a permit for the wastewater system in March 2018. The permit prohibits ponding and wastewater discharge to any surface waters. It also requires maintenance, sampling and reporting throughout the life of the site. 

The Ridgewater site’s permit shows plans to spread the wastewater onto a 6-acre drip field, but state inspections show the site uses only about two acres. 

TDEC conducted multiple site visits from March 2021 through May 2025, noting “significant ponding,” issues with the sand filter, “large areas of algae growth,” a lack of fencing around the area (something that was promised in the site’s permit applications), and foul odors, all in close proximity to homes. 

The regulator issued two notices of violation to the Wilson County wastewater authority and Adenus in 2021 and 2024. The wastewater authority responded with its plans to fix the sand filter and drip field system to stop ponding and keep water on the site. They also stated that the drip field should be 3.5 acres, though the original paperwork showed more than 6 acres.

A TDEC inspector’s most recent visit on May 2 revealed the fresh trench, which contained water, foam and a “moderate sulfuric odor,” though the inspector noted it was “unclear if the water flowing in the channel was draining from an adjacent lowland or being discharged from the sand filter.”

Chris Leauber, executive director of the Wilson County wastewater authority, told Tennessee Lookout that the trench is a storm water drainage ditch that was cleaned to prevent storm water from the subdivision from flowing onto the property. Leauber sent a photograph of the apparently dry ditch dated Aug. 12. 

He also stated that E. coli levels taken on April 23 as part of the site’s quarterly report were within state requirements, one day before the samples from the tributary showed higher levels of E. coli.

The wastewater authority takes its mandatory samples from the discharge before it is distributed to the drip field.

“Therefore, the high E. coli levels of concern may be coming from other sources,” Leauber wrote.

Similar reports of putrid smells, slime and algae in river tributaries near wastewater treatment sites have likewise spurred legal action from environmental groups seeking stronger oversight.

The Water Authority of Dickson County settled a lawsuit with the Harpeth Conservancy in September 2023, requiring the public utility to clean up Trace Creek and change its operating procedures to stop future pollution.

In November 2024, Tennessee Riverkeepers sued the Town of Celina, alleging that officials allowed sewage overflows to be discharged into Cordell Hull Lake and the Cumberland and Obey Rivers, violating the Clean Water Act and Tennessee law. The parties reached a settlement in July that requires Celina to improve its wastewater systems to eliminate overflows and pay a civil penalty of $79,650, court records state.
2025-08-06 Notice of Intent to File CWA Citizen Suit re Ridgewater Treatment Facility_Final copy